Nextpower (NASDAQ:NXT – Get Free Report) and Babcock (NYSE:BW – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
67.4% of Nextpower shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.2% of Babcock shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Nextpower shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Babcock shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Nextpower and Babcock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Nextpower | 16.36% | 26.29% | 15.02% |
| Babcock | -2.17% | -4.51% | 0.70% |
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Nextpower | 0 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 2.89 |
| Babcock | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.43 |
Nextpower presently has a consensus price target of $142.46, suggesting a potential upside of 72.56%. Babcock has a consensus price target of $15.40, suggesting a potential upside of 217.85%. Given Babcock’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Babcock is more favorable than Nextpower.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Nextpower and Babcock”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Nextpower | $3.63 billion | 3.45 | $585.88 million | $3.86 | 21.39 |
| Babcock | $834.35 million | 0.87 | -$36.16 million | ($0.18) | -26.92 |
Nextpower has higher revenue and earnings than Babcock. Babcock is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nextpower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Nextpower has a beta of 1.94, meaning that its share price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Babcock has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Nextpower beats Babcock on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Nextpower
Nextpower, formerly known as Nextracker, an energy solutions company, provides solar trackers and software solutions for utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects in the United States and internationally. The company offers tracking solutions, which includes NX Horizon, a solar tracking solution; and NX Horizon-XTR, a terrain-following tracker designed to expand the addressable market for trackers on sites with sloped, uneven, and challenging terrain. It also provides TrueCapture, a self-adjusting tracker control system, which boosts solar power plant production by optimizing the position of individual tracker row in response to site features, such as varying topography and changing weather conditions; and NX Navigator, that assists solar power plant owners and operators in monitoring, controlling, and protecting their solar projects. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Fremont, California. As of March 31, 2024 Nextracker Inc. (Nextpower) was formerly a subsidiary of Flex Ltd.
About Babcock
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. engages in the provision of fossil and renewable power generation and environmental equipment. It operates through the following segments: B&W Renewable, B&W Environmental, and B&W Thermal. The B&W Renewable segment supports a circular economy, diverting waste from landfills to use for power generation and replacing fossil fuels, while recovering metals and reducing emissions. The B&W Environmental segment focuses on systems for cooling, ash handling, particulate control, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides removal, chemical looping for carbon control, and mercury control. The B&W Thermal segment offers steam generation equipment, aftermarket parts, construction, maintenance, and field services for plants in the power generation, oil and gas, and industrial sectors. The company was founded by George H. Babcock, Stephen Wilcox, Jr., and Joseph P. Manton in 1856 and is headquartered in Akron, OH.
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